Tuesday, September 23, 2014

BRUSSELS GALERIE LOUISE

September 23, 2014
 
When I was a teenager in the 60th, Brussels was divided into two parts for shopping and going out. The upper part was the posh area and very expensive, and the lower part around the Grand'Place and "La Bourse" was less expensive and therefore more for the middle class.

Today it's more mixed and less exclusive, but still more expensive than the lower part of Brussels. The chicest place was (and is) the Gallery Louise, which was built in 1951 and opened in 1952.
 
In no time in this gallery fifty stores were opened, it contains two levels of garages, an office building and apartments  and in the basement a set of night clubs and discos. The Gallery of ​​almost 23,000 m² (248 square feet)  became the exclusive center of upper Brussels.



The building which contains the gallery hadn't changed at all, since the at least 30 years I haven't been there.



The entrance neither



And the rotunda from which lead all the ways through the gallery was the same too.



This was the place where I used to go dancing every Saturday night together with my friends. There was a nice Disco of which I have forgotten the name, but I remember walking down these staircases with high heels ! Now there are still discos but of course they have completely changed and their names too.



The view from the rotunda in all directions




The shops and boutiques are different too, but still rather expensive.



Just opposite the Gallery, where once only houses stood, is now a pedestrian area and the houses are all transformed into restaurants, just one after the other and for every taste !

I had lunch there to finish my walk into the past !

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It looks like a very nice part of town. How good to see people in streets instead of motor cars.

Ileana said...

Beautiful photos of this place! Greetings from Romania!

Linens and Royals said...

What a beautiful place to go dancing, a bit different from the old wooden halls I spent my dancing days in.

Anonymous said...

What elegant shops!

Arija said...

The whole world seems to be re-inventing itself to cater for the tourist trade these days. I loved the Brussels of old. Thanks Gattina.

carol l mckenna said...

Your photos make me want to visit there ~ Beautiful photo tour!

artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

Loree said...

It's a very beautiful place to shop.

A Lady's Life said...

I walked into the past and its all gone. Even the shopping center we had all changed.It all went down from the nice place it was.
I am glad we moved out of there.

Anonymous said...

It seems a nice place where to go and spend some time. Thanks for taking me along...

Louisette said...

Great shots, love much this galerie.

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I love writing, traveling and photography. . I am German, married to an Italian and we live in Waterloo (15 km from Brussels) / Belgium since many years. Waterloo is a famous place to many tourists, because Napoleon lost his battle here against Wellington and other European countries.

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